This is not a question about the latest smart phone or checking your email constantly. (I’ll assume you already do that.)
Social media is a wonderful way to connect, isn’t it? You can have conversations with members and potential members you’ve never seen. Jim can’t make any of your meetings or events but he can connect with you online and share his wit, knowledge and time. And I know – because you value your members – that you take the time to comment on his comments, right?
If you don’t, you should. I’ll assume you do because that’s like picking up the phone when it rings and not saying a word, just listening to hear how long the caller will talk to you without you saying anything. If you’ve ever done this, you know it’s not long. You’ll get a couple of hellos and then a hang up. The same will happen online.
But we’re past that point in social media, right? We know to listen and remark when someone shares something with us, whether we agree or not. So they share. You remark. Then what? Ever feel like conversation falls flat? It’s easy to keep a conversation going — to stay connected — when you’re face-to-face. Online it takes a little effort. Conversation is like a tennis game, if you don’t return the serve the game is boring (for you) and frustrating (for the person taking the time to engage you). If you are a business or a member-based organization, do your best to return all action served your way. That’s not to say you have the last word in everything. It means that the person left wanting more in the conversation should always be you. You should never let the other person feel unfulfilled from a conversation standpoint. If they have more to say, do a little more than listen. Interact. Connect.
What do you think?
Christina G. Smith is the Director, Content and Client Marketing at YourMembership.com and a believer in the effectiveness of motivating through game theory/gamification. She loves debates about the generational divide in the workplace and talking about the changing face of membership. She thinks Hemingway is the cat's pajamas.
